“Beyond the transportation into fantasy, dreams have served as a vehicle through which we have integrated our conscious and subconscious, the real and the surreal, the powerful and the intangible”, says Loreena McKennitt of the themes examined via these eight evocative songs.

One of the most successful independent releases ever in McKennitt's native Canada, the self-produced 1989 album Parallel Dreams is also her first recording to feature the artist's own lyrical contributions. From the poignant traditional ballad “Annachie Gordon” to the fiery Native American/Celtic fusion of “Huron 'Beltane' Fire Dance” to the evocative tale of a child's yearning for home in “Dickens' Dublin (The Palace)”, Loreena's third recording shows a marked evolution beyond the realm of traditional Celtic music and heads down the road on an eclectic musical journey.

“If there is a recurrent thread that runs through these dreams”, their creator concludes, “it is one of yearning toward love, liberty and integration. Of all the variations of dreams we may have, these surely are our parallel dreams”.